Rob and Kurt Widmer held what they called Fermentation Celebrations at the brewery in the late 1990s, but as Rob Widmer said, they got killed three years running because of October weather, so the event went dormant for a while and was moved to early September in 2003 and called Widmer Oktoberfest, and it's been a mostly sunny success every year since. This year's edition, the ninth annual Widmer Oktoberfest block party, will draw more than 5,000 beer enthusiasts and is the largest and best Oktoberfest celebration in Portland. The festival features a variety of Widmer Brothers' craft beers --- including perennial favorite Okto --- and German-style food. Live local music will be featured on Friday night, and accordion players play throughout the day on Saturday, with more local acts on Saturday night.

Get an early start on Oregon's biggest Oktoberfest at the kickoff party, which includes a Gervais Knights of Columbus half Bar-B-Que Chicken dinner with all the fixings. And beer, wine and soft drinks are included in the price of the ticket. So is dance music from S-Bahn, a German festival and dance band that plays a wide array of music.

Here it is, folks, the biggest Oktoberfest --- the biggest folk festival --- in the state and if you've never been, maybe this is the year...after all, Mount Angel is less than an hour away, and it's the quintessential small town. The 48th annual Oktoberfest will attract about 350,000 people cduring the weekend and the community turns out to raise thousands of dollars for local charities and non-profits with more than 50 food chalets serving great festival food; a large arts and crafts show; a new Bavarian Biergarten, family Weingarten and interactive family Alpinegarten. There is free entertainment on the village bandstand and a free Kindergarten on Saturday and Sunday plus golf and volleyball tournaments, a high school football classic and a 200-car cruise-in.

Division St.; The bottle shop/pub celebrates four years with a taplist that includes The Commons/Beermongers Anniversary Sour Blend, Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, Logsdon Peche n' Brett, Silver Moon Train Wreck and more, plus live mkusic, a raffle and beer snacks from Ramona of the Nourishment Food Cart.